hip bone

bone

[bōn]

1. the hard, rigid form of connective tissue constituting most of the skeleton of vertebrates, composed chiefly of calcium salts.

2. any distinct piece of the skeleton of the body. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices for regional and alphabetical listings of bones, and see color plates 1 and 2. Called also os. adj., adj bo´ny.

There are 206 separate bones in the human body. Collectively they form the skeletal system, a structure bound together by ligaments at the joints and set in motion by the muscles, which are secured to the bones by means of tendons. Bones, ligaments, muscles, and tendons are the tissues of the body responsible for supporting and moving the body.

Some bones have a chiefly protective function. An example is the skull, which encloses the brain, the back of the eyeball, and the inner ear. Some, such as the pelvis, are mainly supporting structures. Other bones, such as the jaw and the bones of the fingers, are concerned chiefly with movement. The bone marrow in the center manufactures blood cells. The bones themselves act as a storehouse of calcium, which must be maintained at a certain level in the blood for the body's normal chemical functioning.

Structure and Composition. Bone is not uniform in structure but is composed of several layers of different materials. The outermost layer, the periosteum, is a thin, tough membrane of fibrous tissue. It gives support to the tendons that secure the muscle to the bone and also serves as a protective sheath. This membrane encloses all bones completely except at the joints where there is a layer of cartilage. Beneath the periosteum lie the dense, hard layers of bone tissue called compact bone. Its composition is fibrous rather than solid and it gives bone its resiliency. Encased within these layers is the tissue that makes up most of the volume of bone, called cancellous or spongy bone because it contains little hollows like those of a sponge. The innermost portion of the bone is a hollow cavity containing marrow. Blood vessels course through every layer of bone, carrying nutritive elements, oxygen, and other products. Bone tissue also contains a large number of nerves. The basic chemical in bone, which gives bone its hardness and strength, is calcium phosphate.

Development. Cartilage forms the major part of bone in the very young; this accounts for the great flexibility and resiliency of the infant skeleton. Gradually, calcium phosphate collects in the cartilage, and it becomes harder and more brittle. Some of the cartilage cells break loose, so that channels develop in the bone shaft. Blood vessels enter the channels, bearing with them small cells of connective tissue, some of which become osteoblasts, cells that form true bone. The osteoblasts enter the hardened cartilage, forming layers of hard, firm bone. Other cells, called osteoclasts, work to tear down old or excess bone structure, allowing the osteoblasts to rebuild with new bone. This renewal continues throughout life, although it slows down with age.

Cartilage formation and the subsequent replacement of cartilage by hard material is the mechanism by which bones grow in size. During the period of bone growth, cartilage grows over the hardened portion of bone. In time, this layer of cartilage hardens as calcium phosphate is added, and a fresh layer grows over it, and it too hardens. The process continues until the body reaches full growth. Long bones grow in length because of special cross-sectional layers of cartilage located near the flared ends of the bone. These harden and new cartilage is produced by the same process as previously described.

Bone Disorders. fracture, a break in the bone, is the most common injury to the bone; it may be closed, with no break in the skin, or open, with penetration of the skin and exposure of portions of the broken bone. osteoporosis is excessive brittleness and porosity of bone in the aged. osteomyelitis is a bone infection similar to a boil on the skin, but much more serious because blood supply to bone is less exquisite than that to other body organs and bone metabolizes more slowly, so that the infection can destroy the bone and invade other body tissues. osteomalacia is the term used for rickets when it occurs in adults. In these diseases there is softening of the bones, due to inadequate concentration of calcium or phosphorus in the body. The usual cause is deficiency of vitamin D, which is required for utilization of calcium and phosphorus by the body. In osteitis fibrosa cystica, bone is replaced by fibrous tissue because of abnormal calcium metabolism. The condition usually is due to overactivity of the parathyroid glands. osteoma refers to abnormal new growth, either benign or malignant, of the tissue of the bones. Although it is not common, it may occur in any of the bones of the body, and at any age.

alveolar bone the thin layer of bone making up the bony processes of the maxilla and mandible, surrounding and containing the teeth; it is pierced by many small blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves.

cortical bone the compact bone of the shaft of a bone that surrounds the marrow cavity.

cranial b's the bones that constitute the cranium, including the occipital, sphenoid, temporal, parietal, frontal, ethmoid, lacrimal, and nasal bones, the inferior nasal concha, and the vomer. Some authorities also include the maxilla, zygomatic bone, and palatine bone. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices.

ethmoid bone the sievelike bone that forms a roof for the nasal fossae and part of the floor of the anterior cranial fossa. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices.

facial b's the bones that form the skeleton of the face, including the hyoid, palatine, and zygomatic bones, the mandible, and the maxilla. Some authorities include the lacrimal bones, nasal bones, inferior nasal concha, and vomer and exclude the hyoid bone. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices.

flat bone one whose thickness is slight, sometimes consisting of only a thin layer of compact bone, or of two layers with intervening cancellous bone and marrow; usually curved rather than flat.

frontal bone the bone at the anterior part of the skull. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices.

hip bone the ilium, ischium, and pubis as a unit. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices.

hyoid bone a horseshoe-shaped bone at the base of the tongue. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices. Called also lingual bone.

incisive bone the portion of the maxilla bearing the incisors; developmentally, it is the premaxilla, which in humans later fuses with the maxilla, but in most other vertebrates persists as a separate bone.

zygomatic bone the quadrilateral bone that forms a cheek. See anatomic Table of Bones in the Appendices.

hip bone

[TA]

a large flat bone formed by the fusion of the ilium, ischium, and pubis (in the adult), constituting the anterolateral portion of the pelvic girdle; it articulates with its fellow anteriorly at the pubic symphysis, with the sacrum posteriorly at the sacroiliac joint, and with the femur laterally at the hip joint.

hip bone

(hip bōn) [TA]

A large flat bone formed by the fusion of the ilium, ischium, and pubis (in the adult), constituting the lateral half of the pelvis; it articulates with its fellow anteriorly, with the sacrum posteriorly, and with the femur laterally. Synonym(s): coxa (1) , innominate bone, os coxa.

2. A unit of the skeleton; the human skeleton has 206 bones. Bones surround and protect some vital organs, and give points of attachment for the muscles, serving as levers and making movement possible. In the embryo, the bones of the skull are first made of fibrous connective tissue, which is gradually replaced by bone matrix. The remainder of the skeleton is first made of hyaline cartilage, which is also replaced by bone matrix, beginning during the third month of gestation. The outer surface of a bone is compact bone, and the inner more porous portion is cancellous (spongy) bone. The shafts of long bones are made of compact bone that surrounds a marrow canal. Compact bone is made of haversian systems, which are precise arrangements of osteocytes, blood vessels, and lymphatics within the bony matrix. All of these contribute to the maintenance and repair of bone. The periosteum is the fibrous connective tissue membrane that covers a bone. It has blood vessels that enter the bone, and it provides a site of attachment for tendons and ligaments. Bones are classified according to shape as long, short, flat, or irregular. In the elderly, esp. women, osteoporosis may develop, a condition in which bones become brittle and break easily. See: illustration; skeleton for names of principal bones

alveolar bone

The bony tissue or process of the maxilla or mandible that supports the teeth.

cancellous bone

carpal bone

One of the eight wrist bones, which are aligned in two rows. The proximal row contains (from the thumb to the little finger) the scaphoid, lunate, triquetral, and pisiform bones. The distal row contains (from thumb to little finger) the trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, and hamate bones.

cartilage bone

A bone formed by endochondral ossification developing from the primary centers of bone formation. Synonym: endochondral bone

cavalry bone

collar bone

compact bone

The hard, dense bone made of haversian systems that forms the surface layer of all bones and the shafts of long bones, in contrast to spongy bone that forms the bulk of the short, flat, and irregular bones and the ends of long bones.

cotyloid bone

A bone that forms a part of the medial portion of the acetabulum during fetal development. It subsequently fuses with the pubis.

cranial bone

A bone of the skull or brain case.

cuboid bone

The outer bone of the instep bones of the foot that articulates posteriorly with the calcaneus and anteriorly with the fourth and fifth metatarsals.

cuneiform bone

One of the bones of the internal, middle, and external tarsus.

dermal bone

ear bone

endochondral bone

ethmoid bone

A complex thin-walled bone, roughly cuboidal in shape, located in the middle of the skull above the nasal cavities and below the anterior fossa of the cranial cavity. Its flat upper surface is the cribriform plate, which forms much of the roof of the nasal cavities; its upper surface has a midline bony keel that projects up into the cranial cavity and on both sides of which are perforated valleys through which the olfactory nerves project up from the olfactory epithelium. In the midline under the cribriform plate is a mirror-image (to the crista galli) keel, the perpendicular plate, which projects down between the nasal cavities as part of the bony nasal septum. The right and left sides of the ethmoid bone are the ethmoidal labyrinths, composed of ethmoidal air cells; the inner surfaces of the labyrinths form the middle nasal conchae, while the lateral surfaces form the orbital plates, which are part of the mosaic of bones that form the inner walls of the orbits.

frontal bone

The forehead bone.

funny bone

A colloquial term for the groove along the inner back side of the elbow (behind and underneath the medial epicondyle of the humerus) in which the ulnar nerve runs. Pressure on the groove compresses the ulnar nerve, producing a tingling discomfort on the inside of the forearm as well as the 4th and 5th fingers.

greater multangular bone

The first or outermost of the distal row of carpal bones. Synonym: trapezium

hamate bone

The most medial wrist (carpal) bone in the distal row. It has a hooked process on its palmar side. The hamate articulates with the 4th and 5th metacarpals. Synonym: hamatum; os hamatum; unciform bone

heel bone

hip bone

hyoid bone

The horseshoe-shaped bone at the base of the tongue. It is mobile and its ends hang by the stylohyoid ligaments from the styloid process on each side of the base of the skull. The hyoid bone is suspended by many muscles (the hyoid muscles): the suprahyoid muscles (geniohyoid, mylohyoid, digastric, and hyoglossus) attach the hyoid bone to the mandible and the floor of the mouth; the infrahyoid muscles (omohyoid, sternohyoid, and thyrohyoid) attach it to the larynx and the thoracic cage. The hyoid bone anchors and moves with the jaw, tongue, pharynx, and larynx.

See: illustration

incisive bone

The part of the maxilla bearing the incisor teeth.

innominate bone

The hip bone or os coxae, composed of the ilium, ischium, and pubis. It is united with the sacrum and coccyx by ligaments to form the pelvis. Synonym: pelvic bone; os coxae.

marble bone

metatarsal bone

Any of the bones of the metatarsus.

See: foot for illus.

membrane bone

Bone formed within embryonic fibrous connective tissue, in which fibroblasts differentiate into osteoblasts. Such bone is formed without a cartilage model and includes the bones of the face and cranium. Synonym: dermal bone; intramembraneous bone

parietal bone

pelvic bone

perichondrial bone

Bone formed beneath the perichondrium.

periosteal bone

Bone formed by osteoblasts of the periosteum.

ping pong bone

A thin shell of osseous tissue covering a giant-cell sarcoma in a bone.

pubic bone

The lower anterior part of the innominate bone. It is a separate bone at birth; it begins to fuse with the ischium by age 8, and it is fully fused with the ischium and ilium by 16-18 years of age. Synonym: os pubis

replacement bone

Any bone that develops within cartilage.

rider's bone

Ossification of the distal end of the adductor muscles of the thigh, as may be seen in horseback riders. Synonym: cavalry bone

sesamoid bone

Soemmering's bone

sphenoid bone

The large bone at the base of the skull that has the ethmoid bone in front of it, the occipital bone behind it, and the parietal and temporal bones at the sides. It is shaped like a large moth. Its two broad, curved wings form the front walls of the middle cranial fossae, and its two “tails, ” the pterygoid processes, which hang in front of the neurocranium in the pterygoid fossa behind the facial skeleton. Between the wings, in the center of the body of the sphenoid bone, there is a deep, concave pocket (the sella turcica), in which the pituitary gland lies.

woven bone

zygomatic bone

The cheekbone; the bone on either side of the face below the eye. Synonym: malar bone

illustration

hip bone,

n large bone comprised of the ilium, ischium, and pubis, which in turn is one of the three components of the pelvis, along with the sacrum and coccyx.

hip

1. the region of the body around the articulation of the femur and the pelvis.

2. loosely, the hip joint.

hip bone

os coxae, which comprises the ilium, ischium and pubis. See also Table 10.

hip dislocation

manifested by inability to bear full weight on the limb, excessive mobility of the limb, crepitus at the joint, and in some cases shortening of the limb.

hip dysplasia (HD)

is manifested (1) radiographically by a shallow acetabulum, a small, misshapen femoral head and sometimes osteophyes, and (2) clinically, by a lax joint, weak rump muscles with or without lameness. In dogs inheritance has a degree of influence on the occurrence of the disease. See also degenerative joint disease.

hip flexion posture

posterior presentation of a fetus in the birth canal with the hocks flexed.

hip joint

the ball-and-socket joint formed between the head of the femur and the acetabulum of the pelvis.

hip laxity

subluxation of the coxofemoral articulation, a feature of hip dysplasia (above).

hip sling

a metal clamplike device used to lift a downer cow. Comprises two loops which fit over both iliac tuberosities (coxal tubers) and which are clamped together so that the cow is closely held. The sling is lifted with a block and tackle or by a frontend loader or hoist on a tractor.

total hip replacement

replacement of the femoral head and acetabulum with prostheses that are cemented into the bone; called also total hip arthroplasty.

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